Colonel Robert D. Hunter's daughter, Jennifer Colorado,
marries Edgar Lewis Marston, later president of the Texas and
Pacific Coal Company, June
1885
Grover Cleveland becomes the 22nd president of the
United States, March 4
About 85% of cattle in western Texas die from freezing
and starvation through combination of drought with severe winters
in 1885-87
1886
Over 300,000 workers demonstrate in Chicago in behalf
of an 8-hour work day
William and Harvey Johnson purchase Pedro Herrera survey
property, future site of Thurber, October
Johnson Brothers' mine shaft No. 1 becomes operational,
December
Texas and Pacific Railway agrees to construct a spur
rail line to the Johnson Brothers' mining operation, but do
not sign contract for coal purchases until May 7, 1887
1887
Interstate Commerce Act requires railroads to charge
reasonable rates and forbids them from offering rate reductions
to favored customers, February 4
Johnson Brothers incorporate as the Johnson Coal Company;
first board of directors meeting is held on July 13
1888
Harvey Johnson dies, January 30
Dedication of the present state capitol building in
Austin, Texas, May 16
Johnson Coal Company announces that it is unable to
meet its payroll, August
Members of the Knights of Labor organize local union
at the Johnson mines.
Miners "strike" for unpaid wages in September,
continuing labor action until fall 1889
Texas and Pacific Coal Company chartered by state of
Texas, October 4, with organizational meeting on October 6
Texas and Pacific Coal Company purchases and takes
possession of the Johnson Coal Company's mining operations,
with disgruntled miners threatening Colonel Hunter, November
12
Texas and Pacific Coal Company begins construction
of general store, drug store, and hardware store
Texas Ranger S.A. McMurry arrives at coal mines December
12, remaining to insure security of mines until July 8, 1889
1889
First miners are brought by Texas and Pacific Coal
Company to work in its mines, February
President Benjamin Harrison opens part of Oklahoma
to white settlement, April 22
Thomas Lawson opens a saloon at the company town, succeeding
John L. Ward's contract with the Johnson brothers, May 20
William Knox Gordon arrives in Texas and surveys route
for a railway line between Thurber and Dublin until November
1890
Colonel Hunter appeals to the Texas Rangers for protection
due to threats, July 5
Texas Ranger Captain S.A. McMurry comes to Thurber
for a second time, July 10
Infant Eva Chapman becomes first burial in Thurber
cemetery
Shaft No. 3 becomes operational
U.S. Census Bureau announces that the western frontier
was now closed
1891
Based on a campaign calling for regulation of railroads,
James S. Hogg takes office as the first native-born governor
of Texas, January 20
Construction of the Little Lake for water supply begins;
completed the next year
1892
Ellis Island opens to screen immigrants entering the
United States
Shafts Nos. 4 and 5 become operational
Library is established with gift of books from H.K.
Thurber
Texas and Pacific Coal Company builds Presbyterian
and Catholic churches
Boll weevil arrives in Texas
1893
Shaft No. 6 becomes operational
Panic of 1893 begins the worst depression in American
history up to that time
1894
Jacob Coxey leads a march on Washington, D.C., by the
unemployed, May 1
Shaft No. 7 becomes operational, November
Knox Hotel is built
Catholic Academy is established
1895
Texas and Pacific Coal Company purchases seven railway
passenger cars for carrying miners to work
Small electric lighting plant is built
1896
In Plessy vs. Ferguson decision, the U.S. Supreme Court
rules that racial segregation of blacks and whites is permitted
by the constitution so long as both races receive equal facilities,
May 18
Opera House is built and first grand ball is held there,
October 19
Thurber Colts baseball team is recognized as amateur
champion team in Texas, autumn
Construction begins on the dam for the Big Lake and
new water, with the company starting to pipe water to residences
Texas and Pacific Coal Company installs a 17-ton ice
plant
1897
Thurber shale is tested for suitability for brick production,
February
Green & Hunter Brick Company incorporated to manufacture
brick, March
Fire in Mine No. 5
Texas and Pacific Coal Company builds the Snake Saloon
1898
Spanish-American War, April 25 to August 12
Treaty of peace with Spain, December 10
Paving brick department added to brick plant
Smokestack constructed to serve brick plant
Shaft No. 9 becomes operational
1899
Colonel Robert D. Hunter resigns as president of the
Texas and Pacific Coal Company, with Edgar L. Marston succeeding
him
1900
Shaft No. 6 is abandoned, leaving Nos. 7, 8, and 9
in production
Shaft No. 10 becomes operational
1901
Texas and Pacific Coal Company formally acquires Green
and Hunter Brick Company, January 1
Oil is discovered in vast quantities at Spindletop
near Beaumont, Texas, January 10
Large direct-current dynamo is installed
Texas and Pacific Coal Company erects Baptist and Methodist
churches
1902
Fire destroys the Thurber general store and bakery,
February 25
The United Mine Workers stage a strike against anthracite
coal mine operators in the northeastern states; President Theodore
Roosevelt appoints a commission to mediate the settlement, May
12
Texas Governor Joseph D. Sayers visits Thurber, May
Colonel Robert D. Hunter dies, November 8
1903
William Knox Gordon marries Fay Kearby, February 25
United Mine Workers attempt to organize at Thurber
and go out on strike; Texas Ranger Captain John H. Rogers arrives
to protect mining property, September 7
United Mine Workers begin strike against Texas and
Pacific Coal Company, September 10
First labor union meeting held at Thurber Opera House,
September 20
Edgar L. Marston signs labor agreement for the Texas
and Pacific Coal Company, September 27
Orville Wright makes the first successful human flight
by powered aircraft at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, December
17
Shaft No. 11 becomes operational
1904
Fire in Mine No. 8 begins on June 3 and burns until
June 19
Erath County voters choose prohibition of sale and
consumption of alcohol, leading Snake Saloon to be rebuilt just
across the county line in "wet" Palo Pinto County,
June 11
William K. Gordon's daughter, Margie Kearby Gordon
is born, October 10
1905
William K. Gordon's daughter, Margie Kearby Gordon,
dies, June 15
International Workers of the World organized in Chicago,
June 27
1906
Great San Francisco Earthquake kills 400 people and
causes $500 million in damage, April 18
Texas and Pacific Coal Company builds a new school
on the Thurber quadrangle
Baseball park established and fenced the next year
1907
Fire destroys the Knox Hotel, April 25
William K. Gordon's daughter, Louise Kearby Gordon,
is born, November 1
Shaft No. 12 becomes operational
Shaft No. 7 closes, leaving Nos. 8, 9, 10, 11, and
12 in production
1908
Shaft New No. 1 becomes operational
Ice plant is enlarged and power plant with still surviving
148-foot smokestack is erected
Henry Ford introduces the first Model T Ford automobile
1909
Texas and Pacific Coal Company begins erecting houses
on Cemetery Hill, summer
Texas and Pacific Coal Company builds black church
1910
Mexican Revolution begins, leading to large-scale refugee
migration into Texas, November
Shaft New No. 2 becomes operational
1911
Dissident Republicans bolt the party and form the Progressive
Party
Fire in Mine No. 9, June 27
Shaft New No. 3 becomes operational
1912
New Mexico and Arizona become the 47th and 48th states
in the United States
On its maiden voyage, the Titanic sinks south of Newfoundland;
about 1,500 of its 2,200 passengers and crew members drown
1913
Henry Ford introduces the assembly line to automobile
manufacture, summer
1914
World War I begins in Europe, August
Federal Trade Commission is established to prevent
monopolies and unfair business practices, September 26
William W. Johnson dies in Mineral Wells, Texas, October
14
Shaft No. 8 is abandoned
1915
William K. Gordon begins exploratory oil well drilling,
January 7
Shaft New No. 2 is abandoned, leaving Nos. 10, 11,
12, New No. 1, and New No. 3 in production
1916
1914-16 union contract expires leaving workers idle
for about one month, August
To prevent a nationwide railroad strike, the Adamson
Eight-Hour Act mandates an 8-hour work day in the railway industry,
September 13
1917
United States enters World War I, April 6
J.H. McCleskey No. 1 Oil Well blows in, opening West
Texas to petroleum production, October 17
Gas replaces coal as fuel in the brick plant
Shaft New No. 4, the last in Thurber, is completed
but never put into production
1918
Name of company changes to become Texas and Pacific
Coal and Oil Company,
April 17
Deadly influenza epidemic reaches its height across
the nation; altogether 500,000 Americans lose their lives, October
World War I ends in Europe, November 11
National prohibition closes the Snake Saloon
1919
Break in the dam for the Big Lake, January 24
William K. Gordon's daughter, Louise Gordon, drowns
in Palo Pinto Creek, June 30
John Roby Penn takes the place of Edgar L. Marston
as president of the Texas and Pacific Coal and Oil Company
Shafts Nos. 11 and 12 are closed, leaving No. 10, New
No. 1, and New No. 3 in production
Texas and Pacific Coal and Oil Company installs a modern
water filtration plant
1920
J.H. McCleskey No. 1 oil well is plugged and abandoned,
May 30
Women's Suffrage Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
is ratified, August 18
Texas and Pacific Railway switches from coal to oil
as fuel for its steam locomotives
1921
Congress institutes a quota plan that limits immigration
to 3 percent of a nationality's number in the 1910 census, May
19
Shaft New No. 1 is closed
United Mine Workers strike unsuccessfully and the coal
mines temporarily shut down; only Shaft No. 10 and New No. 3
remain in production, autumn
1922
Texas Pacific Oil and Coal Company incorporates a new
subsidiary, the Thurber Pipe Line Company
First Christian Church is struck by lightning and burns
1923
William K. Gordon resigns from Texas Pacific Oil and
Coal Company, remaining on its board of directors
Texas Pacific Oil and Coal Company offices move from
New York to Thurber, Texas
Catholic Academy closes
1924
Congress reduces immigration to approximately 150,000
people a year, limiting each nationality to 2 percent of the
number of persons in the U.S. in 1890, May
1925
The John Scopes "monkey trial" takes place
in Dayton, Tennessee, July
1926
Last year that any coal is mined at Thurber; Shaft
No. 10 closes
Most of the houses on No. 3 Hill and Stump Hill are
sold and removed
Henry Ford introduces the 49-hour work week in the
automobile industry
1927
Charles Lindbergh is the first person to fly alone
from New York to Paris, May 21
Disused Shaft New No. 3, the last theoretically operable
mine at Thurber, is shut down
Edgar J. Marston replaces John Roby Penn as president
of the Texas Pacific Coal and Oil Company
1928
Fifteen nations sign the Kellogg-Briand Pact, which
renounces war "as an instrument of national policy,"
August 27
1929
Black Tuesday stock market crash, October 29
TP Aero gasoline station opens in Thurber
1930
Brick plant closes, January
Fire destroys the market, hardware store, and general
offices, September 14
1931
Bank panic leads 305 banks to close in September, with
522 more closing in October
Brick plant reopens for two months, then closes permanently
1932
President Hoover orders the U.S. Army to remove 150,000
World War I veterans who had marched on Washington, D.C., to
demand military bonuses due in 1945, July 28
Edgar J. Marston resigns as president of Texas Pacific
Coal and Oil Company
1933
Franklin D. Roosevelt is inaugurated president of the
United States, March 4
Company stores clear all stock from shelves at Thurber,
July 1
National prohibition is repealed, December 5
General offices close and staff moves to Fort Worth,
Texas
Baptist Church burns
Four-year liquidation of the brick plant begins
1934
John Roby Penn reelected president of Texas Pacific
Coal and Oil Company, April 18
William K. Gordon elected president of the board of
directors of the Texas Pacific Coal and Oil Company, May 23
1935
Edgar L. Marston dies in Los Angeles, September 23
Remaining Thurber schools close and students go to
Strawn, Texas, for classes
1936
Civil War begins in Spain, July 17
Post office closes in Thurber, which begins receiving
mail by rural delivery, November 30
1937
Natural gas explosion kills 294 in school at New London,
Texas, March 18
Brick plant smokestack, erected in 1898, is dynamited
in liquidation of kilns, March 29
Thurber Old Settlers Association forms, July 4
St. Barbara's Catholic Church is moved to Mingus
Thurber abandoned
